North Vietnam
|- | colspan="2" style="text-align: center; font-size: 95%; vertical-align: top;"|'Motto' Độc lập - Tự do - Hạnh phúc (Independence - Freedom - Happiness) |- | colspan="2" style="text-align: center; font-size: 95%; vertical-align: top;"|'Anthem' Tiến Quân Ca (Army March) |- | colspan="2" style="padding: 0.6em 0em; text-align: center; font-size: 95%;"| |- | width="50%"|'Capital' | width="50%"|Hanoi |- |'Language(s)' |Vietnamese |- |'Religion' |Officially Atheist; Buddhism |- class="mergedtoprow" |'Government' |Communist state |- class="mergedrow" | colspan="2"|'President' |- class="mergedrow" | - 1945–1969 |Hồ Chí Minh |- class="mergedrow" | colspan="2"|'First secretary' |- class="mergedbottomrow" | - 1960–1986 |Lê Duẩn |- class="mergedtoprow" |'Historical era' |Cold War |- class="mergedrow" | - Independence proclaimed |September 2, 1945 |- class="mergedrow" | - Vietminh reenters Hanoi |October 10, 1954 |- class="mergedrow" | - PAVN enters Saigon |April 30, 1975 |- | colspan="2"|'Area' |- class="mergedrow" | - 1960 |394,680 km2 (152,387 sq mi) |- class="mergedtoprow" | colspan="2"|'Population' |- class="mergedrow" | - 1960 est. |19,016,955 |- class="mergedrow" |Density |100.8 /km2 (261.1 /sq mi) |- class="mergedrow" | - 1974 est. |23,767,300 |- class="mergedbottomrow" |Density |150.5 /km2 (389.9 /sq mi) |- |'﻿﻿Currency' |đồng |} The Democratic Republic of Vietnam (DRV; Vietnamese: Việt Nam Dân chủ Cộng hòa), generally known as North Vietnam, is a sovereign Marxist–Leninist socialist state founded in 1945, laying claim to all of Vietnam yet comprising most of North Vietnam from September 1945 to December 1946, controlling pockets of territory throughout the country until 1954, and governing territory north of the 17th parallel to the present. As an era of post-dynastic Vietnamese history, the republic was preceded by the Nguyễn dynasty and followed by the Socialist Republic of Vietnam. The state was proclaimed by Ho Chi Minh in Hanoi in 1945 after assuming power following the abdication of Emperor Bảo Đại a few days earlier, Later that year, the French reoccupied Hanoi and the First Indochina War followed. Bảo Đại became head of the Saigon government in 1949, which was then renamed the State of Vietnam. The DRV was re-established formally in the eyes of the West following the 1954 Geneva Conference at the end of the First Indochina War, when the country was partitioned at the 17th parallel. The DRV became the government of the North while the State of Vietnam retained control in the South. The communist Viet Minh ("League for the Independence of Vietnam") shared power with non-communists and together controlled areas of North Vietnam between December 18, 1946 and July 20, 1954. However the communists gradually eliminated all the non-communists until, in February 1951, they announced the formation of the Lao Động Party (en: "Labor" Party) and openly avowed communism for North Vietnam. The communists (Lao Động Party) controlled the northern half of what is now the Democratic Republic of Vietnam between July 20, 1954 and July 2, 1976. The Geneva Accords promised elections in 1956 to determine a national government for a united Vietnam. The French accepted the proposal of Viet Minh delegate Phạm Văn Đồng, who proposed that Vietnam eventually be united by elections under the supervision of "local commissions". The United States countered with what became known as the "American Plan," with the support of the State of Vietnam (which later became South Vietnam) and the United Kingdom. It provided for unification elections under the supervision of the United Nations, but was rejected by the Soviet delegation. During the Vietnam War (1955–75), North Vietnam and the Viet Cong supported by its communist allies, including the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics of the Soviet Union and the People's Republic of China, fought against the military of the Republic of Vietnam government, the U.S. and the Free World Military Forces, including Australia, South Korea, Thailand and various smaller players. North Vietnam also fought alongside indigenous communist rebels in Cambodia and Laos against their respective US-backed governments. China and the Soviet Union feuded with each other over their influence in North Vietnam, as both wanted to make the country their satellite state. The war ended when the North Vietnamese forces violated the peace treaty and defeated the South Vietnamese army, which dwindled after American combat troops withdrew from the South in 1973. North Vietnamese forces entered Saigon in April 1975. Independence proclaimed Vietnam became part of French Indochina in 1887 and was administered by the pro-Nazi German Vichy government during World War II. In 1940-1945, French Indochina was occupied by Japan, which used the colony as a base from which to conduct military operations further south. Soon after the Japanese surrender at the end of World War II, the Vietminh entered Hanoi and Hồ proclaimed the Democratic Republic of Vietnam on September 2, 1945. President of the United States Franklin Roosevelt had spoken against French rule in Indochina and America was supportive of the Viet Minh at this time. In January 1946, the Viet Minh held an election to establish a National Assembly. Public enthusiasm for this event suggests that the Viet Minh enjoyed a great deal of popularity at this time, although there were few competitive races and the party makeup of the Assembly was determined in advance of the vote. When France declared Cochinchina, the southern third of Vietnam, a separate state as the "Autonomous Republic of Cochinchina" in June 1946, Vietnamese nationalists reacted with fury. In November, the National Assembly adopted the first Constitution of the Republic. The French reoccupied Hanoi and the First Indochina War (1946–54) followed. Chinese communist forces arrived on the border in 1949. Chinese aid revived the fortunes of the Viet Minh and transformed it from a guerrilla force into a regular army. The outbreak of the Korean War in June 1950 transformed what had been an anti-colonial struggle into a Cold War battleground, with the U.S. providing financial support to the French. Partition of Indochina International relations Fall of Saigon Military Main article: North Vietnamese Armed Forces The North Vietnamese Armed Forces is one of the most powerful military in the world with North Vietnamese Navy, which is its largest arm and even is today the largest navy in Southeast Asia, with over one hundred warships and over 100,000 naval personal, including several nuclear-powered guided-missile submarines, large guided-missile cruisers, nuclear-powered battlecruisers, frigates and aircraft carriers with several hundred smaller ships, ordered from People's Republic of China, USSR and the Russian Federation. The North Vietnamese Air Force is the largest and most powerful Air Force in Southeast Asia with over 4500 combat aircraft and helicopters, ordered from China, Russia and USSR. It is now going to produce its own aircraft. It supported the North Vietnamese ground forces during the Vietnam War 1955-1975. North Vietnam is the only country in Southeast Asia with a modern strategic bomber force. North Vietnamese Army is the best trained and most experienced ground force in Southeast Asia and its rival in size is only the South Vietnamese Army. Its size is today over 2,5 million, making it one of the largest armies in the world. The Army has over 10,000 tanks, over 7,500 artillery pieces and over 1,500 military helicopters. During the Vietnam War, the North Vietnamese Army fought South Vietnamese and U.S. ground forces in the jungle with support from the Air Force and Navy. During the war, the North Vietnameses launched over 6,000 tactical missiles, mostly against South Vietnamese military targets. North Vietnam has nuclear weapons, as its North Vietnamese forces during the Vietnam War, launched several thousand tactical missiles, mostly bought from the Soviet Union. Today, North Vietnam has its own nuclear weapons industry with some large nuclear power plants, which produce its plutonium. The size today is that we know the North Vietnameses have over 12,000 missiles, the largest in Southeast Asia and one of the largest in the world. North Vietnam is going to build its own primary defense industry to produce its own military. The Armed Forces' mission is to defend North Vietnam against South Vietnam Category:Socialist states